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Cherry Creek High School graduates highlight resilience, respect

were still here to bring our re into the world around us.”

Cheers erupted as blue graduation caps ew to the sky in Stutler Bowl stadium Wednesday morning during Cherry Creek High School’s commencement ceremony.

As 918 graduates bid farewell to their high school careers and looked forward to their next chapters, they re ected on the legacies they were leaving behind of resilience, growth and respect.

“During our time at Creek, life has thrown many hardships at us that can be brutal and di cult to deal with. But we always seem to rise out of it better than we were before. We are resilient,” said T.J. Hubble, the student body president.

Hubble, whose journey in Cherry Creek Schools began in kindergarten at Homestead Elementary, said Cherry Creek High School pushed him to be someone he never thought he could be.

“ is school ignited a re within me that I never expected,” he said. “It is not the re that destroys but rather the re that builds. It is the one that burns within our souls and pushes us not only to work hard and succeed but also to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.”

It is this re that de nes Cherry Creek High School — not the state titles or high test scores, he said.

“Many of us teenagers struggled with mental health more than ever, and even dealt with the global pandemic. But it did not stop us from coming out on top,” he said. “ e trauma we endured from su ering and loss did not memorialize our hardships. It reminded us that we

Resilience is one of the most essential traits that the class of 2023 needs when moving into the next phase of life, Hubble said.

“Cherry Creek High School has allowed us to create this spark and light this re within us. And now, it’s up to us to bolster our ames,” he said. “Be a source of fuel to ignite sparks of inspirations in others and brighten the world.”

For graduate Dumi Michael Akinrinola, one of the things he appreciated most from his senior year was learning about topics not necessarily in his school textbooks but relevant to everyday life.

“Topics like mental health, school gun violence, systemic racism that we still see today,” he said. “Teachers at Creek have realized the importance of utilizing what we learn in the classroom and helping it apply to who we can become.”

Senior Class President Sophie Willoughby said the most valuable lessons learned at Cherry Creek High School were about life.

“I learned at Creek how to be respectful and inclusive in a large, diverse group of 4,000 students,” she said. “With our kindness, we will strive to build meaningful relationships, foster empathy and compassion, and make a positive impact on the world around us.

“With our courage, we will be unafraid to challenge the status quo and tackle di cult issues, even in the face of resistance.”

In a speech titled, “Middle Ground,” senior Alba Wilson-Axpe